NASA Books Early Seats on Commercial Space Flights

U.S. agency is trying to lock in operational missions with Boeing and SpaceX

PASADENA, Calif.—Two years before planned commercial space taxis are scheduled to make their initial manned test flights, NASA already is in the midst of contracting for operational missions to carry working astronauts into orbit.

A senior National Aeronautics and Space Administration official said the U.S. agency has formally ordered one such flight for Boeing Co.’s CST-100 capsule to transport crew members to the international...